The Weeping Willow
by Keiko Tsujimura
Summary: Nuriko's feelings for Hotohori are beginning to become unbearable. However, Hotohori is starting to have some strange new feelings for the former crossdresser... rated PG just in case.
1. Chapter 1

**The Weeping Willow**

**By Keiko Tsujimura**

**Disclaimer: Fushigi Yuugi and the characters involved in this fanfiction do not belong to me.**

"Nuriko…" Hotohori whispered, gazing at his beloved from across the gazebo. Nuriko lay on the railing, dressed elegantly in white silk. He smiled back as the rain pounded against the water behind him.

Hotohori stepped forward, approaching closer and closer. When he reached Nuriko, he held his delicate hand, both of them focused on nothing but each other. The Emperor leaned closer, closed his eyes, and…

"NURIKO! GET DA HELL OUTTA BED!" Tasuki yelled. Nuriko bolted upward, his eyes sprung open with surprise.

"Geez, ya sleep more than a freakin' log! Breakfast's gettin' cold!" the red-haired bandit griped.

Nuriko blinked, adjusting to the surroundings. It looked like his moment in paradise was nothing more than a dream. The only man nearby was the one screaming at him. He rubbed his eyes and climbed out of bed.

"_That took long enough! Geez! I nearly wore out my voice tryin' ta wake ya up!" Tasuki continued._

"Trust me, that'll _never happen," the purple haired warrior grumbled, throwing his shirt to the ground to replace it with his red tunic._

"What's dat supposed ta mean, huh?" Tasuki snapped.

"Nothing, nothing at all," Nuriko replied, completing getting dressed. "Now, I believed you mentioned something about breakfast right? Come on, I'm hungry!" he said, heading towards the door.

"Ingrate! I was da one who woke ya up in da first place, remember? I could'a waited 'till I had some breakfast and Miaka had already cleaned your plate, but since I'm such a nice guy, I came and woke ya up now!" the pyromaniac argued, following Nuriko to the dining room.


	2. Chapter 2

Later that day, Nuriko was wandering aimlessly around the castle, when he found himself at the entrance to the thrown room. _May as well check up on Hotohori-sama, he thought. He walked into the room, and looked up to the thrown where his beloved emperor always sat. He usually was quite cheerful when a friend of his walked in, but today he looked quite gloomy._

"What's the matter, Hotohori-sama?" Nuriko asked. The emperor looked up and smiled faintly.

"Oh, hello Nuriko. I was just pondering over the fact that I may not be as good an emperor as I thought I was. I mean, look at the way Tamahome's family lives! I'm letting so many families live like that, while I'm here in my palace with anything in the world that I desire." He explained.

Nuriko's face fell to a look of concern. "Hotohori-sama, you're a great emperor! Running a country's not an easy job, and you were unaware that families were living in that poverty! You've managed to keep the country in order, and that's the most important thing. You can fix it up after you've made sure the basic criteria has been met." He grinned. "On top of all that, you're the most beautiful man, let alone emperor, to be known to mankind."

Hotohori smiled. "Very true. Thank you for cheering me up, Nuriko," he said.

"Anytime," Nuriko replied, feeling a strong sense of satisfaction. As he left, he thought that maybe the Emperor was warming up to him a little more. After all, before he became a warrior of Suzaku, Hotohori-sama hardly even knew he existed. He turned around from the exit and quickly glanced at Hotohori one more time, but something caught his eye. A teddy bear was sitting beside the throne. The one Miaka gave him. Nuriko sighed and headed out the door.


	3. Chapter 3

"Why?" Nuriko asked himself, flopping down on the grass beside a lake. "Why is it that I can love him so deeply while he sees me as nothing more than a friend?" He rested his head on his crossed arms and peered across the lake. Two swans were swimming together, affectionately nuzzling one another. Nuriko closed his eyes and buried his head further into his arms.

"Nuriko-kun! What's the matter, na no da?" a voice asked. Nuriko looked up and craned his neck around to see who was calling him. Chichiri was standing there, his happy mask showing a look of concern.

"Chichiri-kun! I was just thinking about how everyone seems to be falling in love except me. When I first decided to start cross dressing, I didn't think it would be this difficult!" the suffering warrior complained.

Chichiri removed his mask, bearing the large scar that covered his left eye. "I can see why you're so sad, na no da. It's not easy to love someone and not have them love you back, na no da. I've experienced that as well, na no da."

"Yeah, but later you found out that she actually _did love you, remember? I don't stand a chance, unless Hotohori-sama just turns bisexual out of the blue," Nuriko reminded him, reburying his face under his arms._

"Hmm, that's true, na no da. I wish there was a way for me to help you, na no da," the monk sympathized.

Nuriko jerked his head up. "Wait a sec! Chichiri-kun, do you have a spell that could make Hotohori-sama gay?" he pleaded.

Chichiri sadly shook his head. "I don't have any spells that could change Hotohori-sama's mind, na no da. I'm sorry, but there is nothing I can do to help, na no da. If anyone could make a difference, it would be you, na no da."

Nuriko forced a smile. "Thanks anyway, Chichiri-kun. You did manage to make me feel a little better," he assured his friend.

Chichiri nodded and replaced his mask. "Feel free to consult with me at any time, na no da," he said as he turned to leave.

Nuriko grinned a little more to his friend's turned back, then resumed his pout and looked at the lake again, still thinking of ways to resolve this dilemma.


	4. Chapter 4

Hotohori peered out of the huge window beside his thrown. It was one of the only ways he could glimpse at the outside world. He did enjoy his job as Emperor, but he did long to be able to go outside at will and explore uncivilized areas. Presently, he saw Miaka meet up with Nuriko, and the two of them started talking away like close friends.

_A little too close for comfort, the Emperor thought. He shook his head. Where had that come from? They're just good friends, and why should he care how close they are?_

All of a sudden, he was hit with the memory of Tamahome telling him a few months ago that Nuriko had fallen in love with Miaka. He had later brought it up in a discussion with the cheerful warrior, who had said it had been no more than a crush, and he no longer felt that way, though he did, of course, care for Miaka as a close friend.

At the moment, though, that didn't satisfy Hotohori. As he watched the two outside, he felt embers of jealousy burning in his heart.

_That's strange. I didn't think I loved Miaka anymore, he thought. After Miaka had shown how much she cared for Tamahome, he had gotten over his feelings for Miaka and wanted nothing more than for her to be with the one she loved, so why did he feel this now?_

Outside, Tamahome met up with Miaka and Nuriko, and wrapped the Priestess into a warm embrace. Hotohori continued watching the spectacle, his envy dying out. He scowled at himself. That didn't make any sense! When Miaka was with the one that she _did love, he didn't feel any jealousy at all. He tore his eyes from the window, and tried to figure out what he was actually feeling._


	5. Chapter 5

Nuriko sat down under his favourite willow tree. Once he was seated, tears that he had been keeping in came streaming down his cheeks. When he had seen Miaka and Tamahome together, he was only reminded once again of his grief. However, he kept his mask of cheerfulness on until he could find a secluded area to cry.

"I don't want to make them feel bad," Nuriko thought aloud. "I do want them to be happy together. I just can't keep these tears in." He hugged his knees and watched the sun set, waiting for his tears to dry up.

Hotohori was walking through the greenery outside his palace. Once the sun began to set, he was free to roam where he wished. He stopped to listen. He had expected to hear the birds singing or the wind rustling through the grass, but instead he heard someone crying. When he went to find the source of the sound, he came across Nuriko.

"Nuriko! Are you alright?" he asked. Nuriko looked up from his steady stare at the grass, his eyes red and his cheeks stained from tears. Hotohori could see the pain and anguish behind his eyes.

"What on Earth is wrong?" he asked again. Nuriko shut his eyes tight and simply replied, "Nothing. I just got dirt in my eyes."

Not satisfied with this answer, Hotohori sat down beside his friend. He raised his finger to wipe away the tears falling down Nuriko's face. The feminine warrior sprung his eyes open with surprise and looked at the Emperor.

Hotohori was a bit shocked himself. He had never felt so concerned or so close to someone before. He lowered his hand and stared back at Nuriko, trying to figure out what had upset his friend so much.

After a few seconds, Nuriko shut his eyes again and buried his head behind his knees. "I'm fine. Really," he stated. Hotohori could tell he wanted to be left alone, so he stood up and said, "Let me know if there's anything I can do for you," before walking away.

Nuriko raised his head, the tears falling once more. He wanted more than anything to continue being that close to Hotohori, but he knew it would do no more than hurt him. The Emperor may care for him, but he didn't love him. Nuriko knew it was going to take a while for him to fully accept that.


	6. Chapter 6

"Attention, everyone!" Hotohori announced. The warriors of Suzaku, as well as the Priestess, were gathered in the throne room. Hotohori had said he had something important to tell everyone. He got up from his throne and stood among them.

"Kutou's attacks on Konan have ceased since we defeated the Seiryuu Seven. I want to thank all of you for your help. Without all of you, Konan would not be safe." He walked over to Miaka.

"And it was you, Miaka, that made all of this possible, as the Priestess of Suzaku. Take this as a token of my appreciation," he said, taking a glass figurine of two swans out of his pocket. "This figurine symbolizes that we all hope you forever remain with Tamahome, the one you truly love."

_The one you truly love… That was it; Nuriko snapped. "That's it! I can't take this anymore!" he screamed. Everybody looked at him. Nuriko ran towards Hotohori, throwing himself at him and locking their lips. The figurine fell out of the Emperor's hand and crashed to the ground, shattering into a million pieces._

Nuriko separated himself from Hotohori, tears once again falling from his eyes. "That is the one thing I have ever wanted in life!" He gestured towards Miaka. "So why is it that everything _she wants is given to her on a silver plate, while the one wish __I have can't be granted!" he yelled, and then ran out of the room as quickly as he could._


	7. Chapter 7

One week passed, and Nuriko only left his room to get his food, then brought it back into his room, never acknowledging everyone greeting him or asking him how he was. Hotohori was quiet as well, and was nowhere near as cheerful as he used to be.

One day Miaka decided to go and talk to Nuriko. After all, his little outburst implied he was mad at her. She lightly tapped on his door, not receiving a response. She knocked a little harder, which didn't reward her anymore than the first knock. Slowly she opened the door, peeking inside. Nuriko was lying on his bed, stomach down, his head buried into the pillow.

"Nuriko? Are you asleep?" Miaka asked, closing the door behind her and approaching her friend.

"Hn," was his response, not bothering to look up. Miaka sat on the edge of the bed.

"Nuriko, I'm sorry if I upset you. I don't try to be better than anyone; people just treat me with a lot of respect because I'm the Priestess. If there's anyway to make it up to you, I'd be willing to do it, no matter what it is," Miaka explained.

Nuriko rolled onto his back and raised his head to look at the Priestess, showing an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, Miaka, I'm not mad at you. I guess I'm just jealous because Hotohori-sama is in love with you," he said.

Miaka smiled. "He used to be. He told me about a month ago that he didn't love me that way anymore."

Nuriko widened his eyes. "Say what?" He frowned again and let his head fall back onto the pillow. "What am I so excited about? He's probably furious with me after what I did."

"He isn't, you know. He's really worried about you. I swear he looks more concerned now than I've ever seen him," Miaka told him. "I think you should go talk to him."

"Uh…" Nuriko stuttered. Go and face Hotohori-sama? After what he did? Miaka was insane. "No way." Miaka frowned.

"Listen, I promise you he won't get mad at you! I'm sure he'd be really happy to see you!" Miaka pleaded.

"Oi…" Nuriko whined, going limp and staring at the ceiling. "I'll think about it."


	8. Chapter 8

Hotohori leaned back in his throne. What had happened to Nuriko? Just a few weeks ago he had been as cheerful as ever! He sighed. He missed Nuriko's wide, mischievous grin, the way you never knew if he was around the corner, professionally eavesdropping on your conversations. He could easily visualize the way his soft, purple hair framed his face, and the way he often rested his hand on his cheek.

_Am I obsessive? No, not in the least bit, he thought sarcastically. Just then he heard a light knock at the door. __If it's Nuriko, then he must be knocking extremely light. Usually he risks punching a hole through my door. "Come in," Hotohori said firmly, although his commanding tone couldn't hide the slight waver in his voice._

The door opened slowly, revealing Nuriko's pale, slim figure. His eyes were shimmering with fear, reminding Hotohori of a small rabbit confronted by a human. He was afraid that if he were too firm, he would scare his friend off.

Hotohori stood up and removed his crown, revealing long locks of dark brown hair. He watched Nuriko take a few shaky steps towards him.

"Ah…Hoto…hori-sama…" Nuriko began, eyes glued to the floor. It was hard for Hotohori to watch, Nuriko was so frightened…he didn't know what he could do to help.

_Gah, I'm an Emperor and I can't even help my friend feel comfortable speaking to me! Hotohori mentally scolded himself for not having the slightest clue what to do._

"Um…I just wanted…to apologize…for my behavior a week ago," Nuriko stuttered. "It was unacceptable and I'm willing to receive any punishment." He closed his eyes tightly, waiting to hear the verdict.

Hotohori blinked. _What? Oh, that… he had almost forgotten about the events of the last meeting the warriors had. He had been thinking about if Nuriko was even all right, not about how to punish him!_

"Nuriko…please, don't worry about it," Hotohori pleaded. He began walking closer to the frightened warrior. "And please, don't be afraid to talk to me. I would never dream of hurting you." He subconsciously reached out and lightly stroked Nuriko's hair.

_What the- really, he may be a friend, but don't go getting too friendly with him! The emperor reluctantly withdrew his hand. Nuriko raised his eyes from the floor. Hotohori could see the streaks that recent tears had left under his eyes. He looked as though he would blow away if there were any more than a slight breeze. His body once again defying logic, he wrapped his arms around Nuriko in a comforting embrace. He could feel Nuriko stiffen, the shock running through his body._

_What the heck are you doing? Let go of him! You're telling him not to be scared of you, and then you go and start hugging him? But despite his mind's protests, Hotohori didn't loosen his grip. He couldn't bear to see Nuriko so frightened, and logically, this wouldn't help at all, but instinctually he felt that this might help after all._

_What the heck is he doing? Nuriko thought. He certainly hadn't expected to receive any sort of affection from the emperor at this time, more like a death sentence! Eventually, Nuriko gave into the warm embrace, and wrapped his arms around Hotohori, resting his head in the emperor's soft hair._

_What are you doing, you should really let go, you're going to frighten him, you shouldn't get so close to another man, you have to produce an heir, why are you thinking like that, you're just trying to comfort him, but you're doing a terrible job at it – hold on a second here! Hotohori's mind stopped rambling for a minute when he realized that Nuriko wasn't stiff anymore. In fact, he was completely relaxed! His tears were dry and his heart was going much slower than it had been a second ago. Hotohori also completely gave into the embrace. He didn't understand it, but he had a desire to remain in Nuriko's arms forever._

It took a minute before Nuriko remembered that he was hugging the emperor, and that it really didn't help his case considering he kissed him a week ago. _Are you trying__ to get yourself killed? Nuriko asked himself. He pushed himself away from Hotohori, who also seemed to remember at that time that he was not supposed to be intimate with random people…especially a fellow warrior of Suzaku…especially a man! He wasn't grossed out in the least bit; he just simply knew it was wrong for an emperor to do such things. He cleared his throat and straightened his back._

"Well then, it would appear that you have been comforted enough," Hotohori announced, but he made it sound a bit like a question, as if asking if he really _had been comforted enough._

Nuriko nodded. "Yes…sorry to take up your time." He began heading towards the door. Just before he grabbed the handle, though, he stopped. "Hotohori-sama…" he began, turning around to face his companion. "Why…why did you do that?"

Hotohori was taken by surprise by this question. _Well of course he's going to ask you that. If you walked into a meeting with the Emperor of Hokkan while balancing a rice ball on your nose, he would likely ask you why you were doing such an outrageous act. Hotohori opened his mouth to speak, but then realized he didn't really have anything to say._

"To be honest, I'm not quite sure. I mean, I know that I know why I did it, I just haven't figured out what I know yet." Hotohori rolled his eyes at his logic. "Sorry, that probably didn't make any sense-"

"No, I understand," Nuriko confirmed. The two of them stood there, staring into space. Both of them seemed to have forgotten that Nuriko had been on his way out. Finally, after about five minutes, Hotohori stepped forward.

"Um…Nuriko…I was just thinking about something, and I think I've come to a conclusion, but I'm not positive. Would you mind if I tried a very…unprofessional experiment?" Hotohori asked. Nuriko raised an eyebrow.

"Uh…sure, I guess," the purple-haired warrior shrugged. Hotohori gulped nervously, then cupped Nuriko's chin with his hand, and lightly pressed their lips together. Nuriko's eyes widened about three times larger than their normal size, but before he could really register what was going on, Hotohori had pulled away.

Hotohori took a deep breath. "Nuriko, how do you feel towards me? And answer truthfully; I'll know if you're lying."

Nuriko took a small step back subconsciously, his eyes darting around. "Um…I…have strong feelings for you…the kind of feelings that would pull a man like me into the royal harem." He couldn't help but smirk at that.

Hotohori smirked a bit as well, but it was more to imply that he understood what Nuriko meant, but wanted him to say it out loud. "And that would mean?"

"I…love you, Hotohori-sama." Nuriko knew those words would change his life, but he also knew that he was put on the spot and had to tell him.

Hotohori smiled. "I know that you probably think that I'm going to make a huge fuss of this and get extremely surprised and such. Well, I've been hit with many surprises lately, and here's another one." He kissed Nuriko lightly once more, but this one was long enough for Nuriko to savour it. "I love you too."


	9. Epilogue

"Tamahome! I'm glad you have returned safely. Where, may I ask, is Chuei?" Hotohori asked. Six months had passed, and by now practically everyone knew about the relationship between the Emperor and the former cross-dresser. Of course, the matter of an heir cam up numerous times, so it was decided that Chuei could be adopted as the heir to the throne.

"He's outside playing with Nuriko," Tamahome said with a wide grin, pointing his thumb over his shoulder. Hotohori looked behind Tamahome to see Nuriko effortlessly tossing a giddy Chuei up into the air, and then catching him when he'd start to fall again. Just then Miaka ran up to the two of them, two outfits folded neatly in her arms.

"Nuriko, for the wedding, would you like to be dressed as a boy…" she held up a beautiful, silky men's outfit. "…or a girl?" she held up a beautiful dress.

"Uh, I dunno," Nuriko shrugged. Then he pointed to the light pink dress. "On second thought, I look best in pink." He grinned.

"Alright, the dress it is!" Miaka exclaimed before running off to finish the outfit. Hotohori watched his future male-empress, a wide smile on his face. "There should be an interesting future in store for us." He saw Nuriko accidentally throw Chuei ten feet in the air. "Very interesting indeed."


End file.
